Southwark Cathedral

What makes it special

The Shakespeare memorial in the south aisle is the piece the cathedral is best known for. A carved figure shows the playwright at rest in a Bankside meadow. The stained-glass window above it shows Prospero from The Tempest in the central light.

Along the base of the window run the Seven Ages of Man from As You Like It. Christopher Webb made it in 1954, after bombing destroyed the window that stood here before.

Shakespeare's brother Edmund is buried in the church, and so are John Fletcher and Philip Henslowe, two more men of the Bankside stage.

In the north aisle, the poet John Gower lies under a canopied tomb with his head resting on his three best-known books.

Behind the High Altar, the retrochoir, once the Lady Chapel, holds four chapels along the east wall. Each was decorated by Ninian Comper.

The Harvard Chapel commemorates John Harvard, whose name the American university carries. He was baptised in this church in 1607.

Visiting

Open to walk in without a ticket, the cathedral is entered by its main door on the north side. From the nave, turn into the south aisle for the Shakespeare memorial.

Cross to the north aisle for Gower's tomb, then walk east through the choir to the High Altar and the retrochoir behind it.

Between 10.30am and 4.30pm a chaplain leads a short prayer on the hour, lasting about two minutes. Stand still where you are until it ends; you are invited to join the Lord's Prayer in your own language.

On an ordinary day you may hear the choir rehearsing. The cathedral café is a quiet place to sit afterwards, but it closes an hour before the church does.

Guided or on your own

Volunteer Cathedral Guides lead a 60-minute highlights tour at 11am on dates listed on the cathedral's tours page. Check that page for how to join, and meet your guide at the Welcome Desk, reached through the Millennium Courtyard.

Take the tour if you want the stories behind the tombs and windows, and help finding the smaller chapels. For the Shakespeare memorial and the main sights alone, go on your own.

Tips

To find Webb's signature in the bottom right corner of the Shakespeare window, bring binoculars and stand in the centre of the nave.

Personal photography is welcome outside services and events, but not during them or while the choir is rehearsing. Photographs taken for commercial use carry a fee, so arrange them with the cathedral first. Dogs are welcome on a short lead.